The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1887-09-07
THE FINANCE MINISTER'S .EX-
PLANTATION.

means of an interview with la
zette" reporter. 1t would he still
more satisfactory If his explanation
had exhibited a clear perception Of
duty and determination to obey the
law. But unfortunately neither con-
dition is found in his statement. 1t
is simply a shutting apology for
faulty finance, and an admission
that the positive requirements of
the Loan and Appropriation Acts
must give way during his admins
tration to the passing requirements
of the several Government depart
ments. The truth of this statement
must he evident to any intelligent
and impartial reader Of the inter
view in question. And it is point
ed commentary upon the promise of
business-like and legal finance with
which Mr.. Green and his colleagues
took office. There has been change
of men truly, but no change of me
thod.
There is confusion of ideas in
the explanation, and looseness of
statement, which render it extremely
difficult TO gather what the Finance
Minister really means. For ex-
ample, he says: 1.-The principle that
the ordinary expenditure Of the
Kingdom should be paid out of Or
binary receipts and not from bor-
rowed money is too evident to re-
quire discussion, and that is one of
the principles that the present Cabi-
net proposes to adhere to." Yet in
the preceding sentences Of his re-
ported interview he lays down
Numerically opposite doctrine,
when he says: 1.-The money re-
ceiyed from the Postal Savings
Bank was allowed by law to
be used for general purposes, and
interest is payable on it. 1t a
loan to the Government, and IS
much entitled to be included in the
general receipts as the amount of
81 800, 942.Gl from the Loan Fund"
Now, as q matter of fact and law
neither the Postal Savings Bank de-
posts nor The loan fund are zen
titled to be included in the general
receipts" They are special loans
provided for by law, and do not
come in under any head of revenue;
and their manipulation, as explained
by the Finance Minister, has been
altogether improper and unsafe.
This remark equally applies to his
proposed disposal of the fund to be
realised by the new issue of bonds.
A more unsafe or reckless system
of finance than Mr.. Green says he
is prepared to stand or fall by in
the Legislature it would be impossi-
BILE 10 imagine, and it is in truth Mr..
Kanoa's method as revised by Mr..
Gibson. They overran the consta-
BILE on revenue expenditure, and
when the first instalment of the
loan came in they sought to ease the
pressure on revenue by charging to
loan ACCOUNT expenditures properly
made from, and chargeable tn,
revenue. This is evident on the
face of some items of loan eXpendi-
ture table B, intermediate finance
report These are:
Encouragement of Immlgra-
| tiOu............... SIG. 096 II
Honolulu Water Works. 49,. 1928 ~
Improvement of harbor and
new wharves. 1852 II
Improvements of Honolulu
and roadwayS of the
Kingdom. .............. .lO2,62S %
The Loan Act was approved
October 5th, 1886, and no services
have been rendered under the above
heads since then at all equivalent to
the amounts stated. They repre-
sent, in whole or in part, old claims,
and should not therefore he shifted
from revenue to loan. To do So,
in however small degree, is dis
honest, being misapplication of the
loan fund, which is set apart by law
for specific purposes, from the date
of its approval, the Loan Act being
guarantee to the public creditor
that his money would not lie mis-
applied, as it has been by the late
Government, and as the present
Government propose to do.
The loan was raised for the con-
struction of new works, the intro
duction of new immigrants, the pay
ment of special loan, and the conso-
lidation of the national debt, and
not to pay off old scores, except in
the case of the tug Eleu, or to sup
plement the revenue. And it was
the expectation of the country, when
Mr.. Green took office, that he would
have checked the accounts of his
predecessor and presented an honest
and ineligible balance sheet. He
has done nothing of the kind, how
ever, but proposes to pay the Ma
dras claim of 1872, 900, and the
wages Of japanese inspectors, physi-
clans, &C., about $1,000, from
loan, charging the last payment to
the loan appropriation under the
head Encouragement of Immigra-
ton" As to the first, he says,
"the S32, 900 is not chargeable to
any appropriation of the loan fund,
but if the amount has been expend-
ed out Of general receipts on objects
which are so chargeable, it then be-
comes mere question of account"
In other words, Mr.. Green found
| tho lam fund md rnunnro In hntnh-